This invention relates generally to a fiber optic connector and, more specifically, to a connecting device for coupling a fiber optic bundle and an optical mixing device such as a tubular mixer.
A mixer is known in the art which consists of a cylindrical tube, terminated at each end by a flat face perpendicular to the axis of the tube. The tube is made of a transparent material whose refractive index is greater than that of the media with which its inner and outer walls are in contact. The mixer may or may not be coated with a transparent material (glass or synthetic resin) which constitutes an optical sheathing. The properties of this mixer are such that, if it is of sufficient length, the light energy supplied by an incident beam at any point on the entrance face is distributed uniformly over the exit face.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a connector to couple a fiber optic bundle to said mixer.
Fiber optic coupling arrangements pertinent to this invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,910,678; 3,971,383 and 4,015,894.